1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for positioning a collimated light beam in either linear or two-dimensional arrays whereby the light beam is directed to a point in three-dimensional space as determined by the positioning of the collimated light beam.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the ever increasing use of computers and displays therefor, as well as in other areas, it becomes increasingly important to be able to direct a collimated light beam to a precise point in space. It is also desirable that systems of this type be as compact as possible with the additional question of economics always being present. Such systems would be especially useful in flat panel displays where it is desirable to excite a particular phosphor or pixel on the display screen. Such systems, if available, would tend to be expensive to produce by prior art techniques and applicant herein is not aware of the existence of such systems, especially in the field of X-Y addressing of spatial positions by a laser beam using multiple reflections from a faceted backdrop.
An example of a prior art X-Y positioning system using a deflected laser beam for spatial addressing that does not employ stair-step backdrops is a laser printer. In these laser printers, the optical beam is deflected in both X and Y directions, modulated in intensity and allowed to fall directly on the sheet of paper being printed. Characters being printed in such systems are small relative to the deflection dimensions of the optical system and do not provide highly accurate results where large spatial dimensions are being selected. It is therefore apparent that a system is desirable which can accurately, compactly and relatively inexpensively position a collimated light beam in three-dimensional space over relatively large spatial dimensions.